Introduction

With a partner, brainstorm a list of all of the creatures that you think live under the surface of the waters that Pride II is sailing through. Think about what lives right in your own "backyard" - the Chesapeake Bay. Then move on to the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. Write your lists on the Bay and Ocean Brainstorm worksheet that you teacher will give you.

There is so much to consider when we talk about life in the ocean! In this lesson we are just going to dip under the surface by learning about the tiniest creatures that support life forms in all bodies of water. With your partner, go over your list of water creatures and circle those on your list that you think are very, very tiny.

Are any of the creatures in your list so small that you might need a microscope to see them? Put a star by any creatures that might need to be magnified in order to see them.

All of the free floating (or non-swimming) organisms in bodies of water are called plankton. They range in size from microscopic plants (called phytoplankton) and animals (called zooplankton) to very large animals such as jellyfish. The tiniest of these creatures would go unnoticed unless you had a magnifying glass or microscope handy. Others of these creatures can be easily caught and examined. The eggs and larvae of critters such as crabs and oysters are also considered to be plankton.

Ms. Leslie Bridgett, the teacher on board Pride II, has several jobs as she travels to Asia. One of her jobs is to collect plankton samples and send pictures of them to scientists back home. You will learn more about that later. Right now let's discover why her work gathering plankton is so important, and fascinating.

To continue with this lesson and to learn more about plankton click the "Ahead" button below.